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Tropical wave heads for Barbados (with CNC3 video)

Meteorologists were up to late yesterday carefully tracking a tropical wave located about 400 miles to the east-southeast of the Windward Islands and on course to hit Barbados.

Meteorologists were up to late yesterday carefully tracking a tropical wave located about 400 miles to the east-southeast of the Windward Islands and on course to hit Barbados. The system is expected to intensify to a moderate to strong tropical storm. The same weather system was close to Trinidad and Tobago yesterday morning, prompting the T&T Meteorological Office to issue a warning.

While the Met Office warned citizens to expect street and flash flooding, it also assured that T&T was not under tropical storm threat, watch or warning. The weather system has been described as robust. Several forecast models suggest it could become the 16th tropical storm for the season, Tropical Storm Patty today.

The wave was expected to track very near Barbados yesterday evening and then across the Windward Islands this morning. Residents and vacationers in Barbados and in the Windward Islands have been cautioned to brace for tropical storm conditions with wind gusts up to 50 mph, heavy rainfall and very rough seas.

The Leeward Islands are also expected to be affected by strong winds of up to 40 to 50 mph, heavy rainfall and very rough seas. This weather is then expected to spread across the US and British Virgin Islands tomorrow.

Tropical storm conditions likely to be felt also across Puerto Rico tonight through tomorrow. It is likely that Haiti could experience the storm swirling about 500 miles east of the Windward Islands next week. The National Hurricane Center in Miami said this system has a low chance—20 per cent—of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 24 hours as it moves west-north-westward at 15 to 20 mph.